"What makes UberStudent unique is its target audience, and the software and little added touches it has as a result.... I wouldn't recommend that a beginner start even with Ubuntu, unless said beginner is technically inclined and likes to tinker a bit. With UberStudent, though, students don't need to tinker. In fact, they shouldn't even need to install any software. Everything most students might reasonably need is pre-installed, so they can just get to work."

Ubuntu seems to drive people away from linux when it's the first distro someone has tried. I usually recommend linux mint - DE dependent on whether they're a Mac or Windows user. But that's the anyone, not simply students.